“Kinda doubt it.” Seymour glanced over her sleepy face and smiled. “Looks like you’re about to pass out, lil’ girl.”
“What? No.” Day blinked several times. “I am alert and ready.”
“Yeah, ready for a nap.”
Day hissed.
“Very ready,” Sariel agreed. “We can handle the magic shop if you need to rest.”
“But I’m not—” Day slapped her paw over her mouth to stifle another yawn.
“Look, go get some good kitty sleep, and I promise I’ll stop somewhere for more milk, okay?” Seymour smiled warmly.
“I don’t want to go back inside the Inro.” Day pouted.
“Well, uh…” Seymour paused to think. “Guessin’ you’d be okay to sleep here in the truck if we crack the windows?”
“Why would you need to crack a window?” Sariel frowned.
“I don’t mean breakin’ the damn thing. Just leavin’ one rolled down.”
“But she is dead.”
“So? Maybe kitty ghosts appreciate a breeze!”
Day snorted.
No, shesnored.
She was already fast asleep between them.
“Let’s go,” Seymour whispered. “Just let her snooze.”
“But what if she needs us?” Sariel asked.
“Then we’ll be right there in that store, okay? And I’m pretty sure anybody stupid enough to bother her would end up as a brand-new flavor of Kibbles ’n Bits.”
“That is dog food. Not cat food.”
“Whatever.”
Seymour rolled his window down, and they crept as quietly as possible out of the truck. He followed Sariel to the magic shop, taking in the plain exterior.
Other than the front door being painted a bright shade of red, everything else was drab brown and faded black. It may as well have been a real estate office instead of some kind of magical Walmart. Dark curtains over the windows hid the store’s interior, though it mattered little since they were about to walk in.
The first thing Seymour noticed was the smell. It was a thick, pungent fog of a million different scents that hit him in a wave, reminiscent of one of those fancy candle stores, and he already knew he was going to get a horrible headache. The store’s interior looked exactly like any magical shop Seymour could have ever imagined.
It had big wooden shelves crammed with plants, crystals, and candles. A bulletin board near the door had flyers for tarot reading classes and broom making workshops. There was a rainbow of colorful orbs, multiple racks of incense, and enough books to start a college for witches and warlocks.
Or maybe it was just witches.
Was witches considered a unisex term?
Everyone did refer to his father as a witch, after all.
Huh.
Whatever.
